Commercialisation of the coast should cease immediately lest we allow the takeover of every open space remaining along the coast. This is leaving a negative impact on the quality of life or residents and visitors to these areas of relaxation. ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Cacopardo together with ADPD Deputy General Secretary Dr Melissa Bagley addressed a press conference on the proposed Villa Rosa project in St George’s Bay, St Julians.
ADPD Deputy General Secretary Dr Melissa Bagley said that once again we are facing another controversy on a project proposed around St George’s Bay. After all the protests by civil society regarding the dB project in Pembroke and the aborted Masterplan for Paceville some six years ago, this massive project is definitely not acceptable.
The proposed project on the Villa Rosa site includes three towers – one of 34 floors and two of 27 floors each – that will literally cast a shadow on the bay and impact negatively the local environment both during its construction and during its eventual operation. This project will cover a footprint of almost 50,000 square metres with a development mix of tourism, business and entertainment facilities in an area which is already overdeveloped and overcrowded practically all year round.
Once again it is the case where not only is the impact of the project on the residents and visitors being ignored, but also that the public purse will be expected to foot the bill for the upgrade to infrastructure required to support this massive development. “How long do we have to suffer such projects where public land is handed over for the profits of the few?” concluded Dr Bagley.
ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said that the coastline has been the target for commercialisation for quite a long time now. Some of the glaring examples include Manoel Island, Balluta Bay, the Birgu waterfront and yacht marina, the Valletta Waterfront and proposed marinas for Marsaskala and Kalkara. On a smaller scale we have also seen the takeover of pavements and open spaces by commercial entitities all over the country.
Some four years ago Parliament approved legislation to safeguard the coastline by declaring it as public domain. Environmental NGOs had also identified a number of sites that qualified for protection but no action has been taken by the authorities. Not even one site has been declared as protected under this law yet. “Why approve such laws if there is no intention to implement them?” asked Cacopardo.
The common excuse for such projects is to offer more beds for tourist accommodation, this is no longer a valid excuse. A Deloitte study commissioned by the MHRA found that Malta would require 4.7 million tourists annually if all the current projects achieve an occupancy of around 80 per cent – this is pure madness. It would mean more than doubling the current number of tourist arrivals!
Even the government-stated target of 3 million tourists per annum is too high. The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) would be more on target if it would raise the alarm that unbridled speculative development is killing the goose that lays the golden egg – our country’s character.
Commercialisation of the coast should cease immediately lest we allow the takeover of every open space remaining along the coast. Enough is really and truly enough – we want the coast, or, what’s left of it, to be protected for the enjoyment of all and not just for those who can afford it. The coast belongs to us all, concluded Cacopardo.
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Il-kosta u ta’ madwarha huma tagħna lkoll!
Il-kosta hi tagħna lkoll u mhux ta’ min irid jagħmel il-flus. Il-kummerċjalizzazzjoni tal-kosta u madwarha għandu jieqaf minnufih qabel ma noħonqu kull spazju miftuħ li għad fadal tul il-kosta. Din il-kummerċjalizzazzjoni qed tnaqqas il-kwalità tal-ħajja tar-residenti u viżitaturi li jżuru dawn il-lokalitajiet għal ftit ta’ rilassiment. Hekk insista ċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD-The Green Party, Carmel Cacopardo meta flimkien mad-Deputat Segretarju Ġenerali ta’ ADPD Dr Melissa Bagley indirizza konferenza tal-aħbarijiet fejn ġie propost il-proġett ta’ Villa Rosa fil-Bajja San Ġorġ, San Ġiljan.
Id-Deputat Segretarju Ġenerali ta’ ADPD Dr Melissa Bagley qalet li għal darboħra erġajna qegħdin f’nofs kontroversja dwar żvilupp madwar il-Bajja ta’ San Ġorġ. Wara dak kollu li konna għaddejna minnu bil-proġett tal-grupp dB f’Pembroke u wara li l-Masterplan għal Paceville ġie abbandunat xi sitt snin ilu wara l-protesti kbar li kien hemm mis-soċjetà ċivili, issa għandna proposta ta’ proġett massiv ieħor li żgur mhux f’loku.
Il-proġett propost għas-sit ta’ Villa Rosa jinkludi tliet torrijiet – wieħed ta’ 34 sular u tnejn ta’ 27 sular il-wieħed – li litteralment se jitfgħu dell kbir fuq il-bajja u jħallu impatt negattiv fuq l-ambjent ta’ madwar kemm waqt il-kostruzzjoni kif ukoll wara li jitlesta. Dan kollu se jkopri medda ta’ kważi 50,000 metru kwadru ta’ żvilupp imħallat għal turiżmu, negozju u divertiment f’zona li diġà hija maħnuqa u mifqugħa bin-nies tista’ tgħid is-sena kollha.
Għal darba oħra mhux talli qiegħed jiġi injorat l-impatt li dan il-proġett se jħalli fuq ir-residenti u l-viżitaturi, imma huwa każ ukoll fejn l-iżvilupp infrastrutturali meħtieġ biex jilqa’ għal proġetti bħal dawn irridu nagħmlu tajjeb għalihom mit-taxxi tagħna. Kemm se ndumu naraw proġetti bħal dawn fejn art pubblika tingħata għall-profitt tal-ftit? temmet tistaqsi Dr Bagley.
Iċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD – The Green Party Carmel Cacopardo qal li l-kummerċjalizzazzjoni tal-ispazju tul il-kosta ilu għaddej bi proġetti proposti u oħrajn li twettqu fejn art pubblika tingħata għal qliegħ minn individwi. Nistgħu nsemmu l-każijiet ta’ Manoel Island, il-bajja tal-Balluta, ix-xatt tal-Birgu bil-marina, ix-xatt tal-Belt, kif ukoll il-marinas li ġew proposti għal Marsaskala u għall-Kalkara. Fuq skala iżgħar, imma b’impatt sinifikanti fuq il-kwalità tal-ħajja tar-residenti, hemm it-teħid ta’ bankini u spazji pubbliċi minn kumpaniji kummerċjali.
Madwar erba’ snin ilu l-Parlament kien approva liġi bil-għan li tissalvagwardja il-ħarsien tal-kosta, magħrufa bħala d-dimanju pubbliku. Kien hemm numru ta’ għaqdiet ambjentali li identifikaw siti li għandhom jitħarsu bis-saħħa ta’ din il-liġi imma s’issa ma sar xejn minkejja li ppreżentaw id-dokumentazzjoni kollha meħtieġa. Għaliex napprovaw liġijiet jekk m’hemmx intenzjoni li nimplimentawhom? staqsa Cacopardo.
L-iskuża ta’ proġetti bħal dan ta’ Villa Rosa biex joffri aktar kmamar għat-turisti li jżuruna m’għadhiex treġi ukoll. Studju tad-Deloitte ikkummissjonat mill-MHRA qal li jkollna bżonn 4.7 miljun turist fis-sena biex il-proġetti eżistenti jkollhom madwar 80 fil-mija tas-sodod mimlija – din ma tkunx ħlief ġennata – għax tirrekjedi li nżidu n-numru ta’ turisti li jżuruna b’aktar mid-doppju! Fi ftit kliem m’hemmx bżonn proġetti li jżidu s-sodod turistiċi għax diġà hawn iżjed minn biżżejjed.
Anke it-tir tal-gvern li nilħqu it-tliet miljun turist fis-sena huwa għoli wisq. Naħseb li l-Awtorità Maltija tat-Turiżmu (MTA) tkun qed tagħmel xogħolha kieku kellha iddoqq l-allarm li l-iżvilupp bla rażan minħabba spekulazzjoni qiegħed verament joqtol l-attrazzjoni ta’ pajjiżna.
Il-kummerċjalizzazzjoni tal-kosta u madwarha għandu jieqaf minnufih qabel ma noħonqu kull spazju miftuħ li għad fadal. Verament huwa l-każ li ngħidu issa daqshekk – irridu l-kosta, jew aħjar dak li għad fadal minnha, tibqa’ għat-tgawdija ta’ kulħadd u mhux biss ta’ min jiflaħ iħallas għaliha. Għax il-kosta hi tagħna lkoll, temm jgħid Cacopardo.
